A History of Hypocracy

The United States of America is not as great as it may seem. It is often thought of as “the land of opportunity,” but those opportunities are not equally offered to all Americans. Another catchy phrase used to describe our beloved country is “the land of the free and the brave,” which is only partially true. I say this because at the time that line was written in the country’s national anthem, all Americans were not free, but the Americans are definitely brave individuals. They were brave enough to steal land from the Native Indians, and even human beings from their homeland, whom they made physically labor for hundreds of years with no restitution ever. Important components to consider when debating our country’s greatness include its economy, educational system, and its governmental policies. All of which are infected by the nation’s worse illness, racism.

Our nation has just recently started to climb out of an economic decline that has been lingering over the heads of Americans since 2008. This recession period was mainly the result of a history of greedy politicians who have become billionaires by making policies that favor big businesses, and over taxing middle class Americans. As a result, businesses began downsizing their companies, some even closed. In the last five years, we’ve seen some of the nation’s lowest employment rates. Our nation has a history of conducting unfair business practices when rendering services to minorities, and our nation’s bank crisis is the latest public evidence of this fact. President Obama is the first president to reprimand these institutions. I cannot imagine what condition our country might be in without the continued enforcement of such penalties.

No one can argue that America harbors some of the finest higher education institutions. The problem is, these institutions are reluctant to accepting students with less than perfect GPA’s and low incomes. Eager to learn minorities are denied access to the best their homeland has to offer them unless they are a promising athlete. In such case one could expect to receive incentives for their attendance, which range from tutors and mentors, to tuition and board, and even employment, cars, and homes. All designed to keep the promising athlete on the straight and narrow track. America’s grade school system could use some improvement when compared to other countries. Our teachers are constantly professing to be underpaid. Instructors are manipulating state exams to receive governmental funding, when it seems obvious that the schools with poor grades are the schools that are in need of more assistance. Our students are using old books and some no books at all. My daughter was not allowed to bring some of her textbooks home during her 6th grade year, and it made me realize just how much our school system has failed its youth. My generation was taught the history of this nation through smoke and screens and I was born in the eighties. I imagine I am not the only one who feels this way although people rarely discuss the topic aloud. In some foreign countries, in order to teach in grade school, you have to be among the highest ranking student when you graduate. This type of stipulation enables the possibility of creating a positive and conducive learning environment. Implementing a system such as this is a way to make sure that all students, regardless of the district in which they live, receive the same education.

When the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence was written, my ancestors, people of my race, were not taken into consideration because blacks were not thought of as humans, only a portion of a black was human when it came to increasing the population for increased governmental representation. My ancestors had to literally fight, with fists and words, in order to be considered and treated as equal citizens of the United States of America, even though they were brought to this land against their will. Ironically, today it seems there are restitutions or rather incentives offered by our government to encourage foreigners to partake of the many opportunities that America has to offer, mainly in the form of business ownership. These small businesses are unfairly taxed by Uncle Sam, exploited by inspectors, unversed in American business practices, yet foreigners are more likely to be granted operating license’s than an American minority, simply because they possess the required finances.

It may seem as if I do not like my country, but on the contrary, I do. America is a great country with lots of opportunity and possibility, but some people have to work a lot harder and deal with a lot more obstacles than other nationalities. Life naturally presents struggles, and we all make mistakes, but racism is a stain that is difficult to erase. The limitations cast on minorities by racist Americans are harmful to the entire nation. Denying the value of minorities, mainly blacks, limits the growth of America and as long as racism continues there will always be room for improvement.